Four cases of sebopsoriasis or seborrheic dermatitis of the face and scalp successfully treated with 1a-24 (R)-dihydroxycholecalciferol (tacalcitol) cream

A 71-year-old woman visited our clinic due to the presence of widespread scaly erythema on her face, scalp, and lower extremities. She was tentatively diagnosed as having seborrheic dermatitis but the symptoms were difficult to distinguish from psoriasis vulgaris. As a result, she was diagnosed as having sebopsoriasis. She was treated topically with an active vitamin D3 compound, 1a-24 (R)-dihydroxycholecalciferol D3 (tacalcitol) cream. She applied tacalcitol cream twice daily for 4 weeks, and her facial eruptions thus cleared up completely. No recurrence was observed for 2 months thereafter, even though the use of tacalcitol cream was stopped. To investigate whether or not tacalcitol cream is generally effective for the treatment of such seborrheic dermatitis-like eruptions, three more patients were treated with tacalcitol cream. All patients exhibited scaly erythematous macules on the face and/or scalp, and their eruptions improved rapidly with tacalcitol cream. Tacalcitol cream was thus found to be effective and useful for the treatment of both sebopsoriasis and even seborrheic dermatitis of the face and scalp.